Senators who threw out a previous attempt to change employment rules in Bermuda because it would have meant all employers being forced to pay staff overtime or time in lieu, have agreed a new amendment that has dropped the controversial clause.

And the Upper House members noted with satisfaction that their role as secondary gatekeepers had saved Bermuda from being subjected to a flawed piece of legislation last time round.

The Employment Amendment Act 2006 does not include the overtime rule that had been part of the aborted 2004 legislation. That rule would have made it compulsory for an employer to pay any non-professional staff overtime or time in lieu if they worked more than 40 hours a week.

Senatorsaid: ?It is a victory of the bicameral system. It shows the system does work and that we are doing important work in the Senate.?

He said it illustrated that it was necessary to have the second parliamentary chamber to look with a ?more sober, detached and less political? viewpoint at what has been approved by members of the House of Assembly .

Attorney General Sen.presented the bill and outlined the changes it made, such as to clarify that the rules were only to be applied to employment, employers and employees in Bermuda, that employers should use a progressive discipline system before terminating a person?s job, and the paying of wages, severance pay and holiday pay as priorities when a business is wound up.

He said Government had shown it hears the people and ?shows it cares? by dropping the overtime rule, although he pointed out Government may revisit the mandatory overtime provision if there was evidence of employers exploiting staff through unpaid overtime.

Sen. Richards responded saying Government had only heard when the volume of protest ?had been turned up to extra, extra loud?.

He said it was right that employers and employees be able to make their own agreements without being told what to do by Government.

?We live in a market economy, not a command economy and we have to listen and pay attention to the economic flow and conditions in the market place,? said Sen. Richards.

?Government should never be in a position of restricting businesses because they are the underpinning of Bermuda?s success as an economy. The wealth of Bermuda was created in the private sector and we have to bear that in mind when we try to put restrictions on business.

?I?m not saying that there should be no restrictions, we have to strike a balance while letting people get on and create wealth and prosperity.?

Sen. admitted there had been a ?pounding at the door? before the Government had listened to the concerns about the overtime rule, but he said that was no negative thing, explaining: ?It is like with a child who asks and asks until the parent thinks ?yes, maybe that is the right thing to do?.?

He said it was important employers do not take advantage of workers in the absence of an overtime restriction, and for workers to report to the authorities if there is such exploitation.

There was a hint of an impending election, Sen. felt, in the way the Government had brought the amended act to Parliament under the theme ?the Government hears and the Government cares.?

He said before the 2003 election a Government bill relating to GPS systems for taxis had been dropped on the premise that the Government had listened to the voice of the people, only for it be resurrected once the election was out of the way.

Sen. Swan said the public needed to keep a watching brief to ensure this was not a repeat scenario.

Senate President said it was not, in his opinion, a piece of pre-election campaigning as he was aware of how much behind-the-scenes work had gone into the re-drafted amendment act. He also suggested Government consider making it a requirement that employers give employees a statement of employment outlining working rights, such as overtime arrangements, and then carry out checks and punish any employers who do not possess such signed agreements between themselves and their workers.

The Employment Amendment Act 2006 was passed at its third reading by the Senate.